Life Insurance with Leukemia.

In this article, we wanted to take a moment and try and answer some of the most common questions we get from folks applying for life insurance after being diagnosed with Leukemia.

Questions that will be addressed will include:

• Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Leukemia?
• Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with Leukemia?
• What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?
• What rate (or price) can I qualify for?
• What can I do to help ensure that I get the “best life insurance” for me?

So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!

Can I qualify for life insurance if I have been diagnosed with Leukemia?

Yes, individuals who have been previously diagnosed with Leukemia can and often will be able to qualify for traditional term or whole life insurance policy.  That said however, it’s important to understand that not everyone who has had leukemia will be able to qualify for traditional life insurance.

Why do life insurance companies care if I have been diagnosed with Leukemia?

Life insurance companies consider a variety of factors when determining the terms of a policy, including a person’s medical history and overall health.

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, and it can potentially increase the risk of mortality. As a result, life insurance companies may consider a person’s leukemia diagnosis when determining the terms of a policy.

The insurance company may ask for additional information about your leukemia diagnosis, such as the type of leukemia that you have, the stage of the disease, and any treatments that you have received or are currently receiving.

This information can help the insurance company assess your overall health and determine the terms of your policy.

It is important to note that the impact of a leukemia diagnosis on a person’s eligibility for life insurance may vary depending on the specific circumstances.

For example, the insurance company may consider the stage of the disease, the prognosis, and the person’s overall health when determining the terms of the policy.

Leukemia Defined:

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the areas of the body this is responsible for producing one’s blood.  This would include the bone marrow and areas located throughout the lymphatic system.  And while there are many different types of Leukemia, there are 4 types that tend to be the most common which will just briefly mention below:

• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (AML)
  • Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is the most common type of Leukemia found in children and typically begins within the B or T lymphocytes.  From there, this form of Leukemia has the ability to spread to ones:
    • • • Lymph nodes,
        • Liver,
        • Spleen.

The good news when it comes to Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is that the cure rate for AML is approaching 90%.

• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
  • Acute Myeloid Leukemia is the most common type of Leukemia found in adults.  This “type” of Leukemia is one that can progress quickly and can literally affect nearly any component of the blood.  As a result, there are many different “sub-types” of AML that an individual can be diagnosed with.
  • Survival rates for this “type” of Leukemia will vary significantly based on the age that one is first diagnosed with children fairing much better than adult with close to a 90% remission rate.   As for adults, averages show that those diagnosed before the age of 60 will tend to fair better than those older than 60, with a 27.4% five-year survival rate.

• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
  • Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia accounts for about 1/3 or all Leukemia cases and is usually more common in older adults.  Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia can present itself as either a slow and progressive disease or as a rapid more aggressive form.

The good new is that with this type of cancer, the five-year survival rate is right around 83% however we should not that those over the age of 75 will see a drop in the five-year survival rate to around 70%.

• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)
  • Chronic Myeloid Leukemia is the rarest form of Leukemia that we’re going to discuss here in this article and typically only represents about 10% of all new Leukemias diagnosed per year.  These types of Leukemia occur when myeloid cells become genetically mutated into cancer cells and unfortunately, this particular type of Leukemia can prove quite difficult to treat.

The good news is that even though this “type” of Leukemia can prove difficult to treat, the five-year survival rate is generally still above 70% across the board for all ages.

Common symptoms of Leukemia

Symptoms of Leukemia can vary depending on the “type” of Leukemia one might be suffering form, however most will share many of the same symptoms which we have choose to list below:

• Fever or chills,
• Fatigue,
• Increased susceptibility to infections,
• Swollen lymph nodes,
• Enlarged liver or spleen,
• Easy to bleed,
• Frequent nosebleeds,
• Etc…

Now…

Before anyone gets too upset or beings complaining about the simplicity of our definitions that we’re using here, it’s important to understand that we here at IBUSA aren’t medical experts of doctors.  All we are is a bunch of life insurance agents who just happen to be really good at helping folks with pre-existing medical conditions like the one’s described above find and qualify for coverage.

Which means that…

Because we’re not going to be the one “diagnosing” your condition, all we need to do is understand that there are differences between these different pre-existing medical conditions and those differences are going to affect how a life insurance underwriter is going to consider you as a potential “risk”.

The good news is, that despite how simply our definitions of these disease may be, this is something that we actually have down pat!

Which is why…

When we are approached by an individual who has been diagnosed with any of these “kinds” of conditions, we’re going to know right away what questions a life insurance underwriter is going to want to know the answers too before he or she will be willing to make any kind of decision about the outcome of your life insurance application.

What kind of information will the insurance companies ask me or be interested in?

When applying for life insurance, it is important to disclose all relevant medical information to the insurance company, including any diagnoses of serious medical conditions such as leukemia.

If you have been diagnosed with leukemia, the insurance company may ask for additional information about your diagnosis, such as:

• The type of leukemia that you have: There are several different types of leukemia, including acute and chronic forms, and the insurance company may want to know which type you have.
• The stage of the disease: The insurance company may want to know how advanced the leukemia is and whether it is in remission.
• Any treatments that you have received or are currently receiving: The insurance company may want to know what treatments you have received for your leukemia, such as chemotherapy or a bone marrow transplant, and how effective they have been.
• Any other medical conditions: The insurance company may want to know if you have any other medical conditions that may be related to your leukemia or that may impact your overall health.

It is important to be honest and forthcoming when answering these questions, as the insurance company will use this information to assess your overall health and determine the terms of your policy.

What rate (or price) can I qualify for?

As you can see, there are a lot of factors that are going to come into play when trying to determine what kind of “rate” an individual might be able to qualify for after having been diagnosed Leukemia.

This is why, it’s pretty much impossible to know what kind of “rate” you might be able to qualify for without speaking with you directly.

That said however…

There are a few “assumptions” that we can make that will generally hold true that might give you a “general” idea about what kind of rate you may be able to qualify for.

For example, it’s pretty safe to say that if you are still actively treating your Leukemia (regardless of what kind it is) or you’ve just recently gone into remission (less that 6 months ago) chances are you’re not going to be able to qualify for a traditional term or whole life insurance policy.

This is because…

Most life insurance companies (if not all) are going to want to see that you have fully gone into remission and that you are able to demonstrate that you have been cancer/symptom free for a minimum of one year before they will begin to consider you “potentially” eligible for a traditional life insurance policy.

In the meantime, you may want to consider possibly purchasing a Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance Policy or an Accidental Death Policy until which time you may be eligible for a tradition life insurance policy.

But remember…

Just because an individual has gone into remission and has been “cancer free” for one year, this does not automatically mean that an individual will be able to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy.  All this means is that some life insurance companies will begin to consider you “potentially” eligible for an “At risk” or “High risk” classification.

The good news is…

That regardless of your situation, we here at IBUSA can help because we have tons of experience helping folks with all sorts of pre-existing medical conditions like yours and are committed to helping all of our clients find the “best” life insurance policy that they can qualify for.  Which brings us to the last topic that we wanted to take a moment and discuss which is…

What can I do to help ensure that I get the “best life insurance” for me?

In our experience here at IBUSA, what we have found that usually the folks who seem to find the “best” life insurance policy for them are those that:

• Take their time reviewing their options.
• Ask a lot of questions.

And seek out those life insurance agents who not only have experience working with individuals who have been diagnosed with a wide variety of pre-existing medical conditions, but also have access to dozens of different life insurance companies so that when it comes time to helping a more “challenging” case, they don’t have to rely on a…

“One size fits all approach!”

The good news is that this is exactly what you’re going to find here at IBUSA!

Now will we be able to help out everyone who has been previously diagnosed with Leukemia?

No, probably not.  But what we can tell you is that in addition to offering a wide variety of different term and whole life insurance policies, IBUSA has also worked very hard to establish relationships with many of the Best Final Expense Insurance Companies as well so that in the event that someone isn’t able to qualify for a traditional life insurance policy, chances are there may be  some other “type” of product that you CAN qualify for.

So, if you’re ready to see what options might be available to you, just give us a call!